Change, Chances and Insufferable Gits
by warlockwonder
Summary: It was Harry's belief that a Hogwarts owl delivers the most important letters a wizard could ever receive. The letter to Harry years after the war was not an exception.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfic so here goes.**

 **No copyright infringement intended.**

 **All rights are owned by their relevant parties**

The letter came on August 5th as Harry sat down to enjoy his rushed and poorly made hot beverage. Waking up late had not been the plan as sleeping in and not hearing his alarm was not either. The plain brown and old looking Hogwarts owl hooted as it landed and gestured for a treat in the container beside her. With time against him harry only had time to take the letter and feed the now impatient owl a treat before it flew off rather abruptly.

The flushed wizard in his hastily put on auror uniform sighed in trepidation for the monotonous day ahead. 'How had it come to this' Thought Harry as he scoffed down the toast before rushing towards the floo, ready to head to work.

His life had not always been this domestic boredom of wake-up, eat, work, eat, bed. He and Ron had relished the opportunity of becoming aurors after the war. The thrill of the chase, stopping bad guys and fighting crime was what he wanted to do. Or was it? Kingsley Shackelbolt offered places on the team right off the bat a week after the last funeral of the war had taken place.

At this point all three of the golden trio had resided at Grimmauld Place while coming to terms with the war and all who was lost. Ron had been ecstatic with being offered places without having to head through the training. Hermione however chastised him for his abuse of status and demanding they pass the rigorous training the every other member has been through. Much to Ron's dismay Harry sided with Hermione and thus forced them into the training programme the next month.

The training programme was tough. Much more so than either Harry or Ron expected. The training lasted two years before the two were officially classed as aurors. For two years Harry and Ron each had to shadow a full time auror half of the time and the rest were learning laws and conduct, whilst regular fitness tests to prove you could keep up with the evading criminals. Ron was paired up with a young male auror named Philip who was incredible at his job. At first glance the man would appear young and inexperienced; however the multitude of spells and counter-spell techniques he knew made him the perfect partner.

Harry was not so lucky. Higdon was his name, well, not his first name as he did not permit Harry to call him that. A middle aged man who was rather tall and very intimidating and must have been a slytherin, thought Harry, as he remembers the way in which he extracted information from criminals. Ron in the pub after training would often boast about how amazing Phillip is and laugh at the stories Harry told of Higdon's brash methods and .

The Two years of training seemed quicker than he would have expected and finally the day of the graduation and becoming a full auror. The ceremony was not as grand as Harry expected, but that did not put a damper on the feeling of success as Kingsley pinned the badge onto Harry's robes. All the Weasley's were in attendance, apart from Charlie, who was away in Romania at the dragon reserve. Molly beamed as she hugged her son and adopted son as they stepped down off the constructed stage. This was a big step in both of their lives and now was only the beginning to a long, fulfilling career.

Three years on and this was not the case. The glamorous life of an auror was not what Harry envisioned when he signed up. Solitary paperwork. It was what he always seemed to be doing and what he could not escape from. The office seemed to be where the man spent his time as one case that maybe only lasts an hour will need four hours of paperwork. The monotony of doing all this work and not getting much action was driving Harry up the wall. The loneliness of the seemingly social job was starting to get to the boy wonder.

As he stepped out of the floo and into the atrium of the ministry people now ignored him as if he was a ghost, totally forgotten. This pleased Harry immensely as his hero status was something of a nuisance and to be rid of it after seven years was a bonus. A few people looked and he had the rare approach for an autograph, but otherwise nothing and that suited him just fine.

He stepped into the lift and pushed the button for auror HQ and the device sped into life. The doors chimed as he excited the box and he was instantly greeted by a few of his colleagues. Most of these were women who were trying to catch his eye at their desk, however Harry remained oblivious to the hints the women were giving him and reached his desk with little fuss.

The day's pile of paperwork was huge. It would mostly take all morning and then some to finish it before he could be on call for any jobs. He only managed a few forms before Ron entered and sauntered over to Harry's desk with a grin on this face.

"Morning" called Ron as he ate a muggle breakfast bar in his hand.

"Morning, still craving those bars Mione' bought last week?"

"Yeah!" Ron exclaimed as crumbs flew from his mouth "Who would have thought it. Breakfast in a bar, genius" Harry rolled his eyes as the fascination the Weasley's have with muggle items.

"Got something to tell you though" Ron stopped eating and his face split into a wide grin as he settled himself on the corner of Harry's desk. Harry waited for Ron to continue. "Hermione's pregnant" The excitement of his face was evidently clear as Harry stood up and embraced his long-time friend.

"Congratulations mate" Harry said with real enthusiasm as he sat back down feeling a little better than he had when he awoke this morning. "When is she due?" Harry asked.

"Around April time I think. I can't wait but I'm worried about being a bad father. I know it's early but I don't think I'm ready yet." Ron suddenly looked sullen and slightly apprehensive as he considered being a father for the first time.

"Don't worry, you have Mionie' who is the brightest witch of our age and you could always speak to your dad about it too. Think of how many kids he has dealt with and you only have the one" Harry exclaimed and Ron looked a bit better after that.

"But what if I mess up?"

"If you do then you learn from your mistakes and then be better in the future you will be fine, look at how you handle Teddy when he visits you know it will be ok"

"I guess so" Ron said and turned to walk away to his own desk. He stopped and turned back.

"Just forgot Hermione is using that new cookbook you got her for our wedding anniversary last week so do you want to come to dinner? And I think she want to discuss baby names already, you know what she's like" Ron's expression just showed the mere understanding of his wives habits and character.

"Ok then, what time?"

"Seven o'clock"

"I'll be there. Not like I've got anything else better to do is it?" He smiled that reserved smile as Ron walked away to his desk to challenge his own pile of paper.

People fluttered around Harry's desk all day bringing reports and forms to fill in. By the time he got his head up to look at the clock it was 3:50pm and 10 minutes until he could leave. Missing lunch had been worth it as the paperwork was almost gone and the feeling of fieldwork tomorrow lifted his spirits considerably. Packing up his things he left the office and floo'd back to his flat. After wiping the soot and dust off his outer robes Harry trudged to the bathroom and took a nice long shower to wash away all the boredom of his job.

'I want to quit' was what he thought as he was drying himself whilst looking in the mirror. 'But what else am I going to do?' That was the question that he needed an answer to. After getting smartly dressed and attempting to tame his hair and failing miserably, Harry returned to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. While pouring the milk he noticed the letter from this morning and the wax seal from Hogwarts that is stamped on when the invitations to Hogwarts are sent out. Obviously this was not that type of letter so as Harry walked to the table and sat down he grabbed the letter as his curiosity got the better of him.

Harry recognised the writing instantly after many corrections had been made on his admittedly poor attempts at transfigurations essays. The letter read:

 _Dear Harry,_

 _After many years in the schools service I hope Cedric managed to deliver this letter to you as he is getting beyond the age at which an owl should be working. I hope you are having a successful career as an auror as you wanted. I am writing to you however to inform you of a vacancy at Hogwarts as the defence against the dark arts professor. This position has been held by Mr Greene from Ireland since the war ended up until now. I am offering you this position first as I believe that your work as an auror and previously as leader of the DA would make you an ideal candidate for the job. I understand your position as an auror is your desired job, but I would like to offer you this position in case you may consider a new challenge. Please pass on my regards to Hermione and Ronald._

 _Thank-you._

 _Professor McGonagall_

 _Hogwarts Headmistress_


	2. Chapter 2

**No copyright infringement intended.**

 **All rights are owned by their relevant parties**

Harry stared down at the letter in shock. The irony of the situation was overwhelming. The idea of becoming a professor at Hogwarts had never crossed his mind and to have that information thrust upon him so quickly was a surprise. He considered the idea thoughtfully. 'Could this be what I'm looking for?' he thought as he took another swig of tea and set aside the mug once again. 'How would Ron feel about me quitting the aurors?' they had been partners ever since that fateful day on the train where they shared a carriage. The guilt he felt in the pit of his stomach surfaced and he knew he was worried of Ron not liking this decision. 'Wait what decision? Am I already going?' he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Hogwarts was the only placed he could call home. It was his safe haven away from the Dursley's abuse and where Voldemort could not destroy. Just thinking now of walking around the grounds and taking in the sights such as Hagrid's hut or the giant squid in the lake. Even the smell of the hospital wing or the overwhelming sense of magic that surrounds the place made Harry remember the good times over the bad that had happened there. He sighed again. 'I seem to be doing that a lot lately' Harry thought as he picked up a book off the shelf he had been meaning to read and settled down for a few hours until it was time for dinner.

Harry floo'd directly into his two best friend's living room at exactly 7 o'clock. The letter from McGonagall safely tucked away in his back jeans pocket for later discussion. He was greeted warmly by Ron and Hermione and sat down for what smelled like a delicious meal.

"I was thinking of Jessica for a girl and Tyger for the boy? What do you think Harry?" The woman asked while enjoying the beef casserole she had made for the trio.

"Both good names, I like Jessica but Tyger? A little obscure don't you think?" he asked looking to Ron for support who was chewing with gusto and pretending to ignore the conversation.

"What's wrong with Tyger? It's unique and I want something different" she said petulantly as another mouthful was consumed.

Ron then piped up saying "I like Rose, like the flower" he said before going back to his meal.

"That's not bad, I like it as well" said Hermione and Harry nodded agreeing as it was also a nice name.

The conversation lulled for a few minutes as the three continued their food. Harry prepared himself as he started the conversation to what he had been dreading. He didn't really know how to begin so he decided to just blurt it out.

"I hate my job"

Immediately he cringed at the foreword statement and looked down at his plate to avoid the beady eyes of his two best friends.

Hermione spoke up first "About time you admitted it". Harry looked up at her in anticipation only to see her relieved look, exactly the same as she had found out that Harry was alive during the final battle. Harry was confused for a minute and gathered his thoughts and looked at Ron. He also had an identical expression to his wife.

"What?" Harry said dumbfounded as both looked at one another for who was to explain. Eventually Hermione too up the role.

"We could see you have been unhappy for weeks, well months actually. All you do is work and you seem to be losing interest in that as well. Even Ron could see that you hated your life at the moment"

"Hey!" both males cried as the soon to be mother continued.

"And your job is the first thing you need to change in order to get the life you want and to be happy" she looked relieved again that she had said what was on her mind for the last few months. Neither Ron nor his wife had mentioned it to Harry due to his fiery temper. Hearing the truth from his mouth was a welcome occurrence. She had nearly stepped in a week ago at her wedding anniversary dinner but hoped he would notice what is life was becoming and act upon it.

"Being an auror is not what I hoped. All I do is paperwork and that is not what I want with my life. I need something different before I go mad" he exclaimed glad he could tell someone of his troubles that had plagued him for a while. "I need a change and a new location with something I will enjoy and a new challenge that I can have a go at".

"What about a hobby? Like collecting brooms or a season ticket to puddlemere united or something" Ron suggested.

Hermione looked affronted "Not everything revolves around quiddich Ronald".

"What? It was a good idea" looking at Harry for support until he realised it wasn't coming and then turning back to his food in a mini sulk.

Hermione turned back to Harry saying "What job were you thinking of because you will need an income, even if you could live off the potter and black vaults for a few decades. Which you know I will not approve of you doing nothing" she said with her stern voice as Harry remembered the letter in his back pocket.

"Well I have an Idea" as he pulled out the piece of parchment causing both people at the table to look at one another and their curiosity peaked. "This came earlier today" he said as the letter was passed on to Hermione who placed it in between herself and her husband as they began to read the short passage.

They both finished at roughly the same time and looked up at Harry's face trying to gauge his reaction to the news. Harry smiled warily and instantly Hermione knew that Harry wanted to return to Hogwarts.

"Do it"

"I agree, it will make you happy and we want that more than anything" the wife replied. The knot inside unravelled leaving the boy who lived relieved at the news both friends had given him.

"I wasn't sure how you would react and I spent most of the afternoon thinking after work and I really need a break and this could be what I'm looking for" he rambled while taking the last mouthful of food.

"I'm not gonna lie mate, but I will miss you at work but you need this and even I can see it" the ginger said while finishing his own plate.

"Don't worry about Ron, do what you think is best and if you want the job then go for it. After the DA this will be a breeze" she said clearing the plates of the meal up.

"Thanks guys you are the best" Harry said with real meaning "I mean it I don't know what I would do without you" he said while hugging Hermione. "I'm gonna owl McGonagall in the morning after I quit my job"

"Robarts won't be too happy" Ron said in a wary tone. After all, Harry was very good at his job even if he hated it so much and to lose someone hardworking like Harry without a replacement would be a blow to the department.

"That won't be a problem. He loves Harry so he'll let him go" the woman stated as she started the washing charm that washed, dried and put away the dishes into the cupboards.

"I don't care what he says, I hate my job and I'm leaving whether he likes it or not" The golden boy said with finality as he shrugged on his coat preparing to leave the quaint little cottage.

"Good for you mate" Ron said as he clapped him on the back and walked over to his wife.

"Bye guys, see you soon." The parting farewells were shared as the man floo'd home.

The next day arrived quickly for Harry as he crawled out of bed (the correct time for once) and showered and got dressed for the day ahead. He scrambled around making some toast and tea while also searching frantically for a quill, parchment and an inkwell. Once procuring all the utensils he sat down to begin his letter.

 _Dear Professor McGonagall,_

 _I wish to inform you that I will be honoured to accept your offer of becoming the new DADA professor. The reasons for which are too extensive to discuss in this letter therefore a meeting would be beneficial. Please could we meet at the weekend as I will have to continue my job as an auror as my notice will be handed in today. I look forward to working with you._

 _Kind Regards,_

 _Harry Potter_

The letter was neatly folded and sealed with the Black house stamp that once was used by the Black family. The little item had been one that he took from Grimmauld place when removing the furnishings to sell and destroying any dark objects within the grimy walls. With the letter tucked safely in his work robes, he floo'd to the ministry.


End file.
